SHIMANO GRAN FONDO

Location Peterborough, Ont. Date Aug. 28 Distances 150 km, 100 km

Cost $280 (includes Pearl Izumi Pro Pursuit LTD jersey and swag package), $430 (Pearl Izumi Pro Pursuit LTD jersey and Team bib shorts for the men, Pearl Izumi Pro Pursuit jersey and Pro LTD bib shorts for women, plus swag) Website fretori.com/events

The Shimano Gran Fondo is an event founded on a simple idea. “The ride is meant to be a fantastic day on a bicycle,” said Charlie Bryer, a sales rep for Shimano, Pearl Izumi, Pro and Swagman. The fondo is in Peterborough on some of the routes Shimano Canada and the local tourism organization worked together to mark with permanent road signage. “There are lots of short, punchy climbs but also some really spectacular views,” Bryer said. “You wouldn’t think to go to Peterborough for the views, but they really are beautiful.” Participants can count on sweet swag, too. Last year, along with a top-of-the-line Pearl Izumi jersey, riders got handmade leather cycling wallets with chain links from BMC Racing Team member Rohan Dennis’s 2016 Tour de France time trial bike pressed into them, mugs and goodies like bars inside a locally made wood box. Bryer won’t reveal this year’s swag, but promises the event will be worth bragging about. “We want to put on a ride you’d want to Instagram.”